Chat about the game...

Broke off from doing the ironing (   ) to check in (updates later). With regards keeping track of numbers, the player has complete control over that as well.

Every character has an Energy Recovery rate, from 1 point (ordinary humans) up. The draft write up of Steeplejack I put in the rules example has an Energy pool of 12 points and Energy Recovery of 3. Every In Character post (this system is designed for play by post as best as I can) the GM makes gives the characters a x1 Multiplier for Energy Recovery. So a common or garden Thief would recovery 1 (Energy recovery) x1 (multiplier) energy in that round. Steeplejack would recover 3 (Energy Recovery) x1 (Multiplier) Energy.

You can also use spare points to increase that x1, so in the previous example if Steeplejack spent some of his remaining 3 Energy on recovery instead of using his line swinger he could have boosted his multiplier for energy recovery from x1 to x3 (there's an easy rule for spending too much energy which I will explain later - got a 3 year old and a dog harassing me. Basically having a massive energy pool is great, but if the character is useless at everything else that energy won't get you very far.) and recovered 9 Energy, which gives him more options. Of course, Deathblade will be using his energy to get away at max speed and have a head start...

Add to that instead of buying the multiplier you can spend energy on energy dice instead, so Steeplejack could buy a D6 with his remaining energy and roll that to see how many energy points he has to spend on his energy recovery. Of course a D6 can roll from 1-6, so that 3 energy you spent might be worth less, more or the same. Makes things more interesting I think, and also means the game is not truly diceless, but hey, it's still close. Let's call it a supers game of resource management. Or something more interesting than that. Sounds like it's played with a spreadsheet  

I'll put up a couple more examples if I can later. I think my 'breather' time is over now More ironing to do...

Chipping away at the game rules I'm writing (snatching whatever time I can whilst loading the train - I get to sit for 10 mins between each shunt). An example (read: rough draft, I plan to add all sorts of other bits and pieces to the sheet as I figure them out) character is as follows:



Dave, used Steeplejacks old pic from the Exec game without permission, so if you object I'll whip it out. I bought a manga book a few weeks ago with a cd full of stock art I can use (so long as its not for commercial use) which I'll play around with, but the main thing is to get it written at the moment.

What all those numbers mean:

Stats (Strength, Speed, Agility etc) define the characters basic Abilities. How strong, smart, tough, fast, agile they are and so on. An ordinary human adult has 2 across the board. 3 represents a range between enhanced (trained, talented) to peak human performance, as seen with Olympic Athletes and the like. Where Olympians are better than 'mere' soldiers and other professional, physical types is in their training and single minded dedication. Someone like Usain Bolt would have a 'free' sprinting multiplier they could use for 10 seconds (1 round) which boosts their energy with a free multiplier as opposed to having to pay for multipliers with energy.

Example: An ordinary human (Speed 2) runs down the street and spends 2 (of their 3) energy on running. Usain Bolt, with Speed 3, has a sprinting multiplier of x2 which means he only needs to spend 1 energy (minimum spend for most actions) and he will easily outsprint an ordinary human because:

a) Stats like Strength and Speed have a 'benchmark value' meaning that you multiply that value to find a result. For instance let's say Speed 3 has a Benchmark value of 20m. Usain Bolts multiplier of x3 means he moves 20m in 10 seconds.
b) Bolt spends only 1 energy to buy x1 multiplier but his free sprinting multipliers bump that up to x3. If Bolt spent his full energy (3 points) on buying x3 multiplier, then added his free x2 multiplier for sprinting he then has a multiplier of 5. Speed 3 (20m) x 5 equals 100m in 1 round (10 seconds). It's not possible to narrow down fractions of a second in a game like this but Bolt might have an additional (free) modifier of being 'The fastest man in history' which gives an additional 1D10 metres modifier. Sure it's a fudge, but I'm still working this stuff out

Energy is the Energy pool which defines the characters upper limits. You can tell at a glance from the stats how strong, smart, tough and agile the character is normally, but how far can they push themselves when the chips are down? Energy defines that.

You spend Energy to buy Multipliers. You then multiply the Stat or Power being used to find an action score. Let's say Steeplejack uses his Intelligence (4) to figure something out. Dave spends 4 points to buy a x4 multiplier. Intelligence 4 x 4= 16 Action Score. If that is higher than the target number, Steeplejack is successful.

Each number listed for Statistics and Powers is an ACTING VALUE. This is important. It gives an idea of how powerful/competent the character is and defines how much energy they can spend on multipliers. It costs 1 energy to buy a x1 multiplier up to the acting value. Above the acting value it costs 2 energy per multiplier. We call this 'pushing'.

Example:

Steeplejack is stumped. He has a rest and a think about the problem over a cup of tea. Dave spends all of Steeps' energy (12 points) to buy multipliers. It costs 4 energy to buy x4 multiplier. It then costs 2 energy per multiplier above that. Steeplejack can cook up a x8 Multiplier for his Intelligence. On the other hand he could spend 10 Energy to buy an Energy Die, roll 1D20, and add his remaining Energy (2 points) to the total. Then he could multipliers with that. Let's say Dave rolls 18 (a rare high roll for him!) Added to his 2 remaining energy he gets 20 points to buy Multipliers with. 4 buys the first four, then the remaining 16 energy points buy another x8 (2 for each one). With x12 multiplier Steeplejacks Intelligence Action Score is 48 (4 x 12) and he gets a flash of genius as the answer, previously absent, presents itself!

More later. Have to move my train

LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS CLEAR SO FAR!!!!

Admin wrote:Chipping away at the game rules I'm writing (snatching whatever time I can whilst loading the train - I get to sit for 10 mins between each shunt). An example (read: rough draft, I plan to add all sorts of other bits and pieces to the sheet as I figure them out) character is as follows:



Dave, used Steeplejacks old pic from the Exec game without permission, so if you object I'll whip it out. I bought a manga book a few weeks ago with a cd full of stock art I can use (so long as its not for commercial use) which I'll play around with, but the main thing is to get it written at the moment.

What all those numbers mean:

Stats (Strength, Speed, Agility etc) define the characters basic Abilities. How strong, smart, tough, fast, agile they are and so on. An ordinary human adult has 2 across the board. 3 represents a range between enhanced (trained, talented) to peak human performance, as seen with Olympic Athletes and the like. Where Olympians are better than 'mere' soldiers and other professional, physical types is in their training and single minded dedication. Someone like Usain Bolt would have a 'free' sprinting multiplier they could use for 10 seconds (1 round) which boosts their energy with a free multiplier as opposed to having to pay for multipliers with energy.

Example: An ordinary human (Speed 2) runs down the street and spends 2 (of their 3) energy on running. Usain Bolt, with Speed 3, has a sprinting multiplier of x2 which means he only needs to spend 1 energy (minimum spend for most actions) and he will easily outsprint an ordinary human because:

a) Stats like Strength and Speed have a 'benchmark value' meaning that you multiply that value to find a result. For instance let's say Speed 3 has a Benchmark value of 20m. Usain Bolts multiplier of x3 means he moves 20m in 10 seconds.
b) Bolt spends only 1 energy to buy x1 multiplier but his free sprinting multipliers bump that up to x3. If Bolt spent his full energy (3 points) on buying x3 multiplier, then added his free x2 multiplier for sprinting he then has a multiplier of 5. Speed 3 (20m) x 5 equals 100m in 1 round (10 seconds). It's not possible to narrow down fractions of a second in a game like this but Bolt might have an additional (free) modifier of being 'The fastest man in history' which gives an additional 1D10 metres modifier. Sure it's a fudge, but I'm still working this stuff out

Energy is the Energy pool which defines the characters upper limits. You can tell at a glance from the stats how strong, smart, tough and agile the character is normally, but how far can they push themselves when the chips are down? Energy defines that.

You spend Energy to buy Multipliers. You then multiply the Stat or Power being used to find an action score. Let's say Steeplejack uses his Intelligence (4) to figure something out. Dave spends 4 points to buy a x4 multiplier. Intelligence 4 x 4= 16 Action Score. If that is higher than the target number, Steeplejack is successful.

Each number listed for Statistics and Powers is an ACTING VALUE. This is important. It gives an idea of how powerful/competent the character is and defines how much energy they can spend on multipliers. It costs 1 energy to buy a x1 multiplier up to the acting value. Above the acting value it costs 2 energy per multiplier. We call this 'pushing'.

Example:

Steeplejack is stumped. He has a rest and a think about the problem over a cup of tea. Dave spends all of Steeps' energy (12 points) to buy multipliers. It costs 4 energy to buy x4 multiplier. It then costs 2 energy per multiplier above that. Steeplejack can cook up a x8 Multiplier for his Intelligence. On the other hand he could spend 10 Energy to buy an Energy Die, roll 1D20, and add his remaining Energy (2 points) to the total. Then he could multipliers with that. Let's say Dave rolls 18 (a rare high roll for him!) Added to his 2 remaining energy he gets 20 points to buy Multipliers with. 4 buys the first four, then the remaining 16 energy points buy another x8 (2 for each one). With x12 multiplier Steeplejacks Intelligence Action Score is 48 (4 x 12) and he gets a flash of genius as the answer, previously absent, presents itself!

More later. Have to move my train

LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS CLEAR SO FAR!!!!

Clear so far boss. 

Sj

OOC Steel Centurion? Or even just Centurion, or something equally Roman - Praetorian, Legatus etc.

Train Driver? Ha! I would absolutely recommend no one take up train driving if they value having a personal life of any kind! Absolutely a bad job for a superhero - who's going to drive the train when you're flying off into the distance? How about... a taxi driver? Choose your own hours, hear stuff, get word on the street etc. Yeoman does that in his 'out of costume' hours.

The idea behind a new identity/new start is to give something beyond the looking around for bad guys to beat up Smile Technically, you don't really have to do anything, at least to pay the bills - Justin St Johns is easily rich enough to bankroll the team. Don't feel too bad about taking money for superheroics either - the Avengers were paid $1000 a week in the 80s, just to cover 'expenses', and of course Avengers Mansion was free lodging for the team (well, courtesy of Tony Stark at any rate).

If you think about it, there are very few jobs that lend themselves to being a superhero today because there are very few jobs where you can disappear for an hour or three. Newspaper reporter, maybe, but not TV reporter unless your cameraman/soundman and tech guy in the van are all in on your secret ID. Taxi driver, not so much anymore since they are mostly [in the US anyway] linked by radio with their companies dispatcher and have tracking devices in them to keep track of where their cabs are at any time.

So unless co-workers are in on your secret, you have to find a job where you don't interact with people, either fellow employees and bosses or customers. So unless you are a millionaire or a Hero for Hire, you don't really have a lot of time for super-heroics if you want to eat regularly and not live on the street. A lot of non-millionaire types, in the Golden Age of Comics - 1930s and 1940s - only fought crime in the night when they were off work. OR they stumbled into something, like a bank robbery, while they were out walking or on patrol [if they were a street policeman], took down the crooks and then went immediately back into their secret ID.

College student who is a good enough student that he doesn't need to continually crack the books is a good secret ID.
I've created a character who is a Romance Writer. Writers don't deal with the public all that often so could have some copious free time for heroing, assuming that they are extremely fast typists or don't need a lot of sleep.
If you run a business out of your home, could be a good secret ID. There are lots of home run billing processing folks or insurance processing folks who work from their home computers.

Freelance photographer? If Peter Parker didn't have a "special" deal with Spiderman [wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?], he wouldn't get paid as often. How many shots of Daredevil or Captain America or Iron Man has he gotten if Spiderman isn't involved with them?  

Radio Talk Show Hosts might be a good secret ID too. They work in their office a couple of hours before their show. They are on the air for 2-4 hours and then could have lots of free time after that until it is time to go in and build up their stuff for the next show.

Semi-working actors or actors who do lots of guest shots but don't have a regular show is okay. Other than worrying about starving if you don't get enough jobs. On a daily soap opera or a weekly show? Weekly show they wouldn't be available for the 3-4 months that they are shooting episodes. Now if they are big movie stars who are pulling in ten million plus for any movie that they are in, they have lots of time between pictures if they only want to do one or two movies a year.

Used Bookstore owner? That could work if you have a good employee or two who don't mind you disappearing for hours on end while they run the shop. It's also not a job with lots of employees and could have very slack periods to it during the day where you could just close up shop with a "Back Later" sign on the door.

Now, if you have a boss who is in on your hero ID and is willing to cover for you, there are lots more jobs available to a person. Lots of characters were in the Army or the Navy in WW2. Usually the general or the admiral of the base they were stationed at knew their secret and helped cover for them, even if it meant just making sure that they weren't dishonorably discharged for being Absent without Leave, and just had you thrown into the guardhouse for a few days instead. Happened to Captain America a lot in those war era stories since his sergeant wasn't in on the secret.
 
The Shield [Joe Higgins, FBI agent], his identity was known by the head of the FBI and would send Joe off on missions where he wasn't in contact with the office much while the Shield handled some problem.

Private Detective or Security Specialist? That could work. A lot of their work nowadays is done from their desk, using a computer and minimal foot work, unlike what the detective shows show.

Technology has made a lot of changes in the work world today and many of the old standby jobs won't work too well in any semi-realistic superhero comic. But that also means that new jobs could.

Excellent point!

Looks like Justin St Johns will have to set up his own taxi firm, as I think the millions required to set up a train operator or film production company might be beyond even his means

He's done alright for himself since the end of the original Lore Knights game in other words, but isn't on the top of any rich list if you know what I mean

He could set up a private school for gifted youngsters and hire "special" teachers! Maybe someone whose expertise is World War 2?   

He could set up a private school for gifted youngsters and hire "special" teachers!  Maybe someone whose expertise is World War 2?    

Hmmm not a bad idea...

Updates 'at some point' in next 12 hours. Kids off school.

Again.

With all that entails. Anyhow, just to keep you updated

Work (knocking on for 40 hours so far in 3 days this week, should easily bust 60 with the remaining 2 days this week), kids and having the bathroom done (currently no shower, toilet, sink etc) are testing my SAN score. Salvation is at hand though - the kids are back at school next week so from Friday afternoon I have... *drum roll* 1 week off, without kids nattering and hopefully with the bathroom done. Aside from dropping the kids at school and doing a few chores I am using the time to recharge. For the last 10 weeks I have averaged 55 hours a week and its killing me :(Means I can:

a) update more
b) try to get more finished of the diceless game I want to use for the Lore Knights
c) get more sleep. 5-6 hours a day is not healthy. I look like a zombie :S

So yeah, hang in their folks. I'm willing and able, but work are testing my limits. Love to say it's all overtime, and I get paid for it, but I get paid 35 hours a week, and don't have any say in the matter :(Sheesh. Things you do to pay the bills

So, in an effort to address things for SJ I started a similar thread to what I did with Sentinel a while back. Just something to go over the specific rules that work for Frostbite. Lionheart is going to take a bit more work because of all those powers..

Anyway, here it is: https://darkeningshadows.darkbb.com/t150-frostbite

In a similar line to my last post, would it be helpful if I made a thread on how combat works? I'd start with basic stuff and then add more detailed things in following posts. If anyone thinks they would use it then I'll get into that. I'd like to ask that comments/questions be kept to this thread if I do make that up. Just to keep things easy to read for everyone.

Happy to see your take on describing the game system Ryan. I've tried it a few times and will readily admit that on having re-read what I've written I've scratched my head.

If I were condensing the game system into as few lines as possible, I'd say...

• The game mechanic is a contest between the Acting value of the character attempting the action, versus the Opposing value another character or the task difficulty.
  
• Cross reference Acting value vs Opposing value on the Action table.
  
• Roll 2D10.
  
• If the roll equals or exceeds a target number, compare the Effect value of the character attempting the action against the Resistance value of opposing character or difficulty of the task.
  
• This gives result APs, and the higher the number the more successful the check is.
  
• A high roll (doubles explode) gives a chance of getting more Result APs (RAPs) which can translate into damage or success at whatever task is attempted.

Still a mouthful :S

Excellent, clear, concise start to the 'combat boot camp' thread Dune, but I'm probably not the best to comment on it seeing as I've been playing DC Heroes from the 1st Edition.

Still alive, stlll posting, still behind and still intent on catching up. Will have to juggle the kids today (it's 00.31 and have to hit sack then up at 06.00 most likely) but will post what I can when I can. Thanks for hanging in there, hope life hasn't been battering you senseless as it has me!

On another note not seen Ross post for a while Dave (E). Is he ok, still with us?

Admin wrote:Still alive, stlll posting, still behind and still intent on catching up. Will have to juggle the kids today (it's 00.31 and have to hit sack then up at 06.00 most likely) but will post what I can when I can. Thanks for hanging in there, hope life hasn't been battering you senseless as it has me!

On another note not seen Ross post for a while Dave (E). Is he ok, still with us?

Yes just heard from Ross via text, he has moved and is awaiting broadband to be fitted, not going to happen till the 25th.  So he said he'd update by phone, but not sure when.  Ross is about afterwards so look to then for posts and do what you think best in the meantime, unless he is able to chime in sooner, of course.  

Sj

In response to your semi implied question in the main IC thread Dave, I've added another section to my combat/gameplay series on how to use Hero Points. I hope it isn't to rulesy to get your head around. If it is I'll try to streamline it!

Thanks for the feedback Dave! Would you mind pulling your post out of that thread though? I'd like to keep chatter out of it so that everyone can use it as a reference for gameplay without having to sift through commentary.

dunecat wrote:Thanks for the feedback Dave! Would you mind pulling your post out of that thread though? I'd like to keep chatter out of it so that everyone can use it as a reference for gameplay without having to sift through commentary.

Done ;-)

Sj

Back to being able to post tomorrow (4th) once I get up. 12 hour nights and looking after the kids by day has sucked my life up Have a week off from tomorrow though

Admin wrote:Back to being able to post tomorrow (4th) once I get up. 12 hour nights and looking after the kids by day has sucked my life up :(Have a week off from tomorrow though

Yeah:D

A cautionary warning, Frostbite has a fairly extreme vulnerability to fire/heat. It's not impossible that he could down you in one hit.

Still alive, hopefully get chance to post today. Having the kids all day and going to work all night, so it's a bit tricky finding time to post/sleep :(Hope all well!

All is well, busy final bit before get a break.  Hope to be able to post from parents in law, but see what happens.  

If we don't post before Christmas, let me take this opportunity to wish you a great Christmas Paul, for your Stirling work on all you do for us on top of everything else.  Hope you get some kind of a break and get to enjoy peace, goodwill and family - all part of the reason for the season.  

Sj

Will probably have to get up early with the kids but at least I'll have more sleep than I've had in the last 36 hours (2 hours!)

Have the next five days off, juggling kids again but should get a better chance of posting than the usual juggle work/home life stuff.

I'd also like to wish everyone a happy christmas and good new year, and thank you all for your continued support for the game and understanding of my schedule!

Have a good un, see you (in game!) soon

Cheers, Paul